Preserving a Pugmark

For a blinkering tiger-fanatic, the next best thing to seeing the beast itself is spotting its tell-tale pugmark. After all, it is, more often than not, your key to a sighting. Pugmarks have always fascinated me, much to the chagrin of my travelling companions who would much rather use them to zero in on their quarry. But each imprint has its own story to tell, and also shares clues about its maker, such as age, sex and even its potential whereabouts. While the pugmark is a recurring symbol in wildlife memorabilia, the memory of seeing an actual one in the wild is what I sought to preserve, and the only means of doing that was through photographs. That was until I came across a homestay in Tadoba. This place offered a plaster-cast made from genuine pugmarks. You could buy a readymade cast, or choose to venture out into the wild, find a pugmark and prepare your own. Add to that the option of engraving a personal message, and you have the perfect jungle souvenir.

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